592 - Two Cast Iron Charcoal Irons, One with a Dragon's Head as Smoke Outlet

Two Cast Iron Charcoal Irons, One with a Dragon's Head as Smoke Outlet Two charcoal irons of cast iron. 1) Plainly designed iron with a tapering sole and a tall charcoal box. The rim of the lid is cast as a zigzag frieze, the side walls each carry three oval air slots. The lid is hinged at the back; at the front it is held down by a sculpturally cast bearded man's head mounted on a pivoting bracket. On the inside of the lid the raised casting mark „C E K 4“. The curved wooden handle rests on two cast supports which meet at the front in a mask. In age-appropriate used condition, one hinge broken. 22x10x23 cm (LxWxH), weight 3.7 kg. 2) Iron of the same construction with a fully modelled dragon's head at the front end: the head with open jaws, bared teeth and a scaled, ribbed neck forms the chimney through which the smoke of the embers escapes. At the rear an arched draught opening; the rotating closing plate is missing. The wooden handle sits at the front on the dragon's neck and at the back on a turned support; beneath it lies a round heat shield onto which a plaque with a walking bear in the centre and the surrounding inscription „Berliner Industrie“ is mounted. The lid can be lifted off completely. In age-appropriate used condition, the handle slightly wormholed. 20x12x23 cm (LxWxH), weight 4.6 kg Charcoal irons were filled with glowing charcoal inserted through the hinged lid; the air slots at the sides and the draught opening at the rear provided the draught, and the rotating closing plate regulated it. The smoke had to escape towards the front, away from the hand and from the laundry. From this came the most striking design idea of these appliances: the chimney was cast as an animal head whose open jaws expel the smoke, the head turned slightly to the right so that with right-handed use the fumes drew to the side and not into the face. The heat shield beneath the wooden handle kept the rising warmth away from the palm. The walking bear on the plaque is the heraldic animal of Berlin and confirms the inscription „Berliner Industrie“; comparable irons with a dragon's head are attributed in museum holdings to the Berlin firm of Grossag and dated between 1880 and 1940. In the 19th century charcoal irons replaced the solid flat iron, which had to be heated on the stove, and remained in use until the electric iron became widespread.